What Oxfam is doing
In collaboration with the World Food Program, Oxfam is responding to the humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe on two fronts—by distributing food and by scaling up its response to the cholera outbreak.
We are distributing more than 13,000 tons of maize meal, vegetable oil, and pulses to 150,000 people. Our cholera response will target 615,000 people and focus on three of the worst-hit areas: Beitbridge, a town on the South African border; Budiriro, a suburb of Harare, the country's capital; and Mudzi, a district bordering Mozambique.
Since October, we have been promoting hygiene education as well as distributing soap, disinfectant, and clean water. We have plans to carry out a major cholera response through May, including taking preventive steps in areas where the disease has not yet struck.
Among our objectives are the following:
- To repair drilled wells that are not functional, including fencing to protect them from contamination;
- To distribute buckets, jerrycans, soap, and available disinfectant;
- To train, equip, and supervise a team of 150 community health workers to spread messages on cholera prevention and rehydration methods;
- To work with a local group on initiating and managing a cholera early warning system.
